9,000 km on two wheels: What does it take to do the longest cycling race?

Many people dream about going on a Trans-Siberian railway journey, all the way from Moscow to Vladivostok. But would you dare to cycle those 9,000 km?

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Probably only superheroes would. Ten participants (eight men and two women) in the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme Race certainly fit the description of superhero.

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Cyclists from Russia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Philippines and the U.S. saw the whole of Russia, crossing it from west to east on wheels.

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They cycled for 24 days.

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Only several hours’ rest and then back on the track.

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Peter Sandholt from Denmark relaxes during the 9th Krasnoyarsk-Irkutsk stage. He has been cycling for 12 days, having crossed more than 4,000 km in total.

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The cyclists set off from Moscow on July 18, 2017. The first part of their journey covered 375 km, a paltry distance considering the scale of their trip. Only two other parts — 330 km from Perm to Yekaterinburg and 313 km from Yekaterinburg to Tyumen — were shorter.

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The longest section of the route was 1,368 km from Chita to Svobodny, which took the first cyclist about 52 hours to complete! His name, by the way, was Alexei Shchebelin from Russia. Pictured: Marcelo Florentino Soares from Brasil taking a rest after this stage.

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Can you imagine seeing all those remote places and unbelievable landscapes not from the train window, but having a chance to stop and touch the ground and pick a flower? In the picture you can see the Ulan-Ude to Chita stage. Lake Baikal is behind the cyclists’ shoulders.

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Despite the stereotypes about eternal frost in Siberia, the summers there are usually very hot.

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That’s what’s known as a cyclist's tan. Alexei Shchebelin pictured after coming first in the 1045 km Krasnoyarsk-Irkutsk stage.

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The Krasnoyarsk-Irkutsk stage normally takes about 14 hours by car, while the cyclists managed to complete it in 35-37 hours with an average speed of about 28-29 km per hour.

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A back-up car was the cyclists’ permanent satellite, carrying water, food, medical care and even extra bikes. Pierre Bischoff from Germany is seen during the 11th Ulan-Ude-Chita stage.

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They cycled from early morning till late night, and once even raced in the dark!

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Only three people — Alexey Schebelin, Pierre Bischoff and Marcelo Florentino Soares — made it to the very end. They finished on Aug. 10 in Vladivostok. Alexey Schebelin claimed overall victory. In the picture Egor Kovalchuk from Russia relaxes during the 9th Krasnoyarsk-Irkutsk stage.